Killing the Possessor - Chapter 17
The malevolent energy that had been racing toward me, as if to swallow me whole, dispersed like smoke at the strike of an unknown man’s sword. The blade, glowing with a soft blue hue as though it had absorbed the moonlight, embedded itself firmly into my vision, and the surrounding noise seemed to fade away in an instant.
Between the officer’s uniform and the coat, strands of silver hair subtly swayed in rhythm with the man’s movements. As he extended his left hand and made a horizontal slash, blue characters appeared in the air, and the malevolent energy that had turned to smoke vanished completely.
Whether it was because I had just been pulled back from the brink of death or because I was captivated by the first supernatural power I had encountered, I couldn’t tell.
But even in the face of a life-threatening situation, with the demon possibly about to strike again, I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the man’s back.
Pop!
Startled by the sudden burst of light, I instinctively shut my eyes and opened them again. When I looked around in a panic, the man was already standing close to the demon.
He jumped over a chair lying on the ground and, without hesitation, swung his sword at the demon.
“Whoa!”
I, who had been passively watching, was shocked and couldn’t help but cry out at the brutal attack.
While the demon was possessing a person now, it was originally a regular person. If someone were to just kill an innocent person like that…
“…Didn’t die?”
But what I saw next was different from what I expected.
Despite being struck by the sword, the person collapsed, but there was no visible injury. In a situation where blood should have been gushing out, there was nothing.
Staring at the unbelievable scene in confusion, a translucent demon suddenly appeared over the fallen person.
It had two large horns on its head and eyes far too large to be human. The eyes, the size of a fist, were entirely black, just like the possessed man’s.
Hiii!
The demon, showing long, sharp claws, lunged at the one who had attacked it. Even watching from afar made my stomach churn, but just as before, the man’s sword slashed again, and the demon’s form disintegrated, turning to ash.
Whoosh.
Like something being blown away by the wind, the black dust vanished from my sight, as though the whole scene had been a mere illusion. It was similar to the demon’s end in the game.
As soon as I sensed that the situation had ended, my tension eased, and my legs wobbled beneath me.
Gasp, gasp.
I collapsed to the ground, catching my breath, and the man who had destroyed the demon suddenly turned to face me.
When I looked at him, I was stunned not for the same reason I was by the demon, but for a completely different one.
…What is this, that inhumanly handsome face?
“Can you stand?”
A hand was suddenly extended in front of me, but my eyes were still locked on his face.
His eyes, which had just been brighter than the sword’s blade, were a piercing shade of blue, and his long eyes, slightly tilted upward, held an almost otherworldly beauty. His nose had a distinct height, and his sharp jawline only added to the perfection of his features.
They all registered in my mind one after another, against my will.
It was truly a face sculpted by God. I had never seen someone so finely handsome before.
As I continued to stare blankly, lost in my thoughts, the man seemed to grow impatient. With a polite ‘excuse me,’ he took my arm and helped me up. Only after my body moved did I start to notice the things around me.
The people in similar uniforms to the man who had saved me were cleaning up the chaos in the pub. They appeared to be police or something along those lines.
“Th-thank you.”
Still struggling to gather my wits after being thrown into the chaos by the demon and then stunned by the man’s appearance, I tried to thank him. However, instead of quickly leaving after checking on me, the man remained where he was and continued to stare at me.
“……”
“……”
An odd tension began to hang in the air between us, as neither of us broke eye contact. His gaze was so intense that, given his striking looks, I found it nearly impossible to look him in the eye for long.
I blinked repeatedly, and eventually, I turned my head to avoid his stare. Only then did he finally speak.
“Why did you come here so late at night?”
“Huh?”
It was a strange question. Coming to a bar late at night wasn’t that unusual, especially for one that was known to be more active at night.
Was it just because a young woman was here alone that he found it suspicious? Was it my noble background, not hidden enough by my drab-colored coat, that gave me away?
“Well…”
